Biographies of Women Mathematicians

Cecilia Krieger

April 9, 1894- August 17, 1974

Cecilia Krieger was born in Jaslo, Poland (formerly Austria) in 1894.
After studying mathematics and physics for one year at the University of
Vienna,
she entered the
University of Toronto in 1920 (despite knowing very little English),
receiving her B.A degree in 1924,
her M.A. in 1925, and her Ph.D.
in 1930 under the direction of W. J. Webber. Her graduate work included
courses in Modular Elliptic Functions from Jacques Chapelon, Minimum
Principles of Mechanics from J.L. Synge, Theory of Sets from Samuel Beatty,
Theory of Numbers from J.C. Fields, and Theory of Functions from Webber.
Her thesis was "On the summability of trigonometric series with
localized properties--on Fourier constants and convergence
factors of double Fourier series." This was published in two parts in the
Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, in 1928 and 1930,
respectively.

Krieger was the first woman, and the third person overall, to
earn a mathematics doctorate from a Canadian University. She
had been appointed an instructor in mathematics at Toronto in 1928, and
became a lecturer in mathematics and physics in 1931 after spending some
time at Göttingen upon completion of her degree. After 12 years
she was promoted to
assistant professor at the University of Toronto and taught there
at that rank until her retirement in
1962. She is known for her translation of Sierpinski's Introduction
to General Topology (1934) [Cover page]
and General
Topology (1952). In the 1934 translation Krieger also included an
appendix that contained some of the ideas and results from Sierpinski's
text on transfinite numbers that were used in the topology book.

Krieger was very active at the University of Toronto, both in the
Department of Mathematics and in the Engineering Department, where she
worked closely with graduate students.
Cathleen Morawetz attributes her
original interest in advanced mathematics and decision to pursue a
mathematical
career to Krieger's encouragement and support.
She was also an active participant in
the Canadian Association of University Women.

In 1953 Krieger married Dr. Zygmunt Dunaij. She officially retired from
the University of Toronto in 1962, but continued teaching there for 5
more years. After her husband's death in 1968, she taught at
Upper Canada College until her own death in 1974.

The Canadian Mathematical
Society now awards the CMS Krieger-Nelson Prize Lectureship for
Distinguished Research by
Women in Mathematics in honor of Cecilia Krieger and Evelyn Nelson. The 1997 award was presented to Cathleen Morawetz. What follows is her acceptance
speech (used with permission of Professor Morawetz and the Association for
Women in Mathematics.)

It is a very special honor to give the Krieger-Nelson lecture and to
receive this award. In the name of all women in mathematics I would like to
thank the Canadian Mathematical Society for creating this award. Now that
I am standing here I feel especially grateful and thoughtful.

I did not know the Nelson of the lecture title, so I cannot speak of her,
although I heard a little of her at the first Krieger-Nelson Lecture. But
probably I knew a good deal longer than anyone else here, Cecilia Krieger.
Born probably in the late nineties in Poland she received her B.A. in
Mathematics in Toronto in 1924 and completed a Ph.D. with Webber in 1930.
And now I come to my first memory of her from, I think, Christmas 1930. My
father was her colleague in mathematics at the University of Toronto. We
had just returned to Canada from Ireland and Miss Krieger, as she was
known to us children, took my sister and me to the pantomime. I hope I did
not say so at the time, but I thought its lack of plot was very stupid (the
pantomime in Ireland suffered the same defect). But there was no question
that Miss Krieger was the kindest person I had ever met, and I probably did
not say that either.

Cecilia Krieger had come to Canada with her mother and sisters to escape
the persecution of Jews in Poland. She spent her life in Toronto teaching
mathematics. Her principal mathematical contribution was the translation
of the two books on topology by Sierpinski.

For many students of mathematics, she was the source of friendship and
encouragement in every way. Her Sunday teas for students were famous for
their sociability, intellectual conversation, terrific cakes and every
now and then "matches"; for example, she introduced my sister to the man who
became her husband. I remember learning that she was also the sole support
for many years of her mother and a handicapped sister. It must be added
that she lived at a time when the prejudice against women meant that she
was for over twenty years not promoted from her position as lecturer.

For my career she played a fundamental role. I have told this story before
but I will tell it again. I would not be standing here but for Cecilia
Krieger. I was in my final year at U of T. World War II had almost ended
and there had been a call for teachers to go to India. The idea of living
in an exotic country appealed to me and since I did not have any other
ideas, that is what I was thinking of doing. But I ran into Miss Krieger
one day as I crossed the campus and she asked me what my plans were. So I
told her. She was horrified. "Why aren't you going to graduate school?" "I
haven't the money," I said. "Easily fixed," said Miss Krieger. She assured
me that I could receive the Junior Fellowship of the Canadian Association
of University Women. So before I knew it I was applying to graduate school
and Miss Krieger (who was of course on the Fellowship Committee of the
C.A.U.W.--I think even the Chair) had delivered.

I know I was not the only one who benefited form her energetic help, but
her actions put me on the road. I wavered sometimes and I'm not sure I was
always glad but I certainly am now.

References

Anand, Kailash K. and Anita K. Anand. "Cypra Cecilia Krieger and
the Human Side of Mathematics," in Despite the Odds: Essays on
Canadian Women and Science, Marianne Gosztonyi Ainley, Editor,
Vehicule Press 1990.

de B. Robinson, G. "Biography, Cecilia Krieger-Dunaij," Notes of
Canadian Mathematical Congress, January 1975, reprinted in the Newsletter
of the Association for Women in Mathematics, 5(3), April 1975.